Basics about Stem Cell?

Question

I have a debate tomorrow about whether Stem Cell research should be funded or not. I have some basic questions that i myself have not been able to find answers to, simply questions might i add. I wanted to find out whether stem cell research only works for a certain age group? or does it give an effect to any age group? also.. if it is for children, ages maybe 5 - 12, if they wanted the stem cell to repair his or her heart or something like that, would it increase in the growth of the heart as in not only repairing it but by physically make the organ grow past the age of the patient? Hope im making sense, please explain if im not .. thanks

^CherryPie
Hmm, i think this is within the same branch of research, and i hoping this is legit information.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=106857

Answer 1

I think the most important thing to realize is that, at this point, stem cell use in human medicine is completely theoretical.

Amazing things have been done in mice, but so far no one has published serious stem cell science with regard to humans, partially because of the ethical issues.

Here is one of the few studies I know about that is attempting to use stem cells to cure human disease--it is on terminally ill children in Portland, OR:

http://www.ohsu.edu/stemcellstrial/

Answer 2

Stem cell research should b funded as it has many benefits to our life...there are embryonic stem cell that is obtain from the umbilical cord of newborn baby and also adult stem cell that can be obtained from bone marrow....Stem cell research works for all age group as stem cell is a cell that doesn't have any sepcified function so it can grow to any cell such as epithelial or cardiac according to what a patient need... stem cell can replace the organ that is damaged..but up to now, scientist still cant determine whether the growth of stem cell can b stopped or not...so, this can b the main reason for your debate which the research of the stem cell should be funded in order to discover and investigate more abt stem cell....that can be your main stand for ur debate.

Answer 3

Stem cells are cells that can become any cell needed when they need to be. Okay; that was kind of confusing. Its pretty much a cell that can become another cell when that type of cell is needed. So like, if your body need white blood cells it can become one (i think it can become a white blood cell; its been a while since i took bio) Try googling it. Maybe you can get an answer from there.

Answer 4

Ok, you notice how your cells are all different, skin cells are not the same as liver cells, which are not the same as blood cells, which are not the same as germ cells, etc. Well, notice when mommy and daddy created you, you started off as a fertilized egg, just one cell, and now you are 10^14 cells, of many many many shapes and sizes.

Well, this is because before differentiation of cells, and organ formation, embryos have a "bank" of cells that differentiate into ANY and ALL types of cells. At this point, they become committed to a particular lineage (blood cells, or muscle cells, or epithelial cells for example). As adults we have these "semi-committed" stem cells, these are already committed to certain lineage, but later become specific cell types (i.e. cells committed to the lymphoid lineage can become basophils, neutrophils, eosinophils, macrophages, etc.)

So there is your basic intro, the difference between embryonic and adult stem cells. Now, the goal with stem cells, is to have them differentiate into the cells that you want, and become integrated into the host to restore proper function. Well, cells are in communication with each other all the time, and this is how the heart becomes a heart in the first place! All the cells in that area are constantly communicating with other cells, both directly (through cell-cell adhesions) and chemically (through signal molecules, receptors, and signal transduction). This allows cells to know what they are, and what function they are to serve!

So, to answer your questions, in theory stem cells can work for anyone! In theory, they will become just like any other heart cell, or spinal cord cell, because of this communication.

Keep in mind that the use of stem cells in this manner is still completely experimental at this point, and very expensive to study. Nothing is really proven at this stage, but the theory is there behind it. It really is the future of therapy!